durhambirdersfandomcom-20200215-history
Entries on Latest News page
To post a sighting, simply click on the "edit" button by the date. If there isn't a date that corresponds with that day, please see the instructions on creating a new day below. When posting sightings on the Latest News page, it helps the Durham Bird Club greatly if you adhere to its standard format. The basic requirements are as follows: # Begin with the name of the site or district # Tally the notable species (total number before name), separated by commas, and briefly including anything of interest to others # End with the observer’s name (not just initials) in parentheses (round brackets) # Please try and keep each day's records in alphabetical order (i.e. Hardwick Hall would come above Low Barns, which would come above Whitburn Coastal Park, etc.). Adding a new day To create the heading for the following day: # Click on one of the "edit" options. # Click before the first letter of the most recent day's date entry and press "Enter" to free up a line above that date. # Now that there is space to enter the new day, make sure you have clicked on that line so that is where you will start typing. # At the top of the edit pop up is a drop down menu option that currently will read "Paragraph". Click on it and change it to "Heading" (the second option down). # Now, enter the new date. # At the end text for the date, press "Enter" to drop down to the next line. It will automatically go back to normal text, rather than the large font used for headings. # Click the button that creates bullet points (if unsure of the correct button, hold your mouse over them for a few seconds and it tells you what they are for), and you can enter your sighting! Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope people find this useful. If there are any problems, I am on twitter here. Happy birding! Other Details What to report The main purpose of the Latest News page is to help Durham birders and the compilers of the Durham Bird Report by letting them know about interesting sightings in the Durham area. These should include reports of all rarer or interesting species, or species in unusually large numbers or performing notable behaviour (e.g. first singing Chiffchaff, or Rainton's infamous swallow-catching Great Crested Grebe!). Ultimately I would like this to help DBC, and other birders know what is about and where they can go, and fuller species lists are undoubtedly better for this, so I'll leave it largely up to people's own discretion what they post. E.g. kingfishers may be fairly widespread up here in some areas, but it can still be nice to know that if going for a rare bird at a location, that there are other things to show in case you don't see your main target! Location At large sites, for sought-after birds that remain on site, please provide an accurate description of where it was last seen so that others can find it. Flyovers/Flyaways If the bird was seen leaving the site or just passing through, state the flight direction (e.g. N/S/E/W if known, or ‘over’ if not) so that readers do not make wasted journeys and nearby birders can look out for it. Times are also helpful for these records. Number If there was more than one bird, place the total number before the species name. If it's an approximation, use the prefix 'c' rather than 'ca' or 'circa'; if it's a minimum estimate, add the suffix '+' without a space. For large counts do not use commas as this confuses the data extractor, e.g. type 1000 rather than 1,000. Plumage Record any distinguishing features, e.g. m/f, ad/imm/juv, winter/summer. Behaviour Note if the bird was doing anything unusual or interesting. See below for an example: Monday 1 January 2015 * Hardwick Hall: m Red-crested Pochard, 2 Pintail, Brambling (Firstname Secondname). * North Gare: 2 Shorelark by pier, 10 Snow Bunting '''between North Gare and Seaton Snook, Merlin, 2 Peregrine, usual selection of waders (Firstname Secondname). * Rainton Meadows: '''Great White Egret, m Goldeneye, 2 Goosander (Firstname Secondname). * Washington WWT: Hawfinch over S (Firstname Secondname).